Santa Monica - End of the Journey

Next Santa Monica - I loved this place! Another 2 hours south from Santa Barbara, we stayed at Shutters on the Beach - another fab hotel and definitely the best in Santa Monica. The hotel is right on the beach so we could do lots of celeb spotting! The rooms are homely with books and a library and have balconies although they are quite small; Shutters is one of the few hotels in Santa Monica that actually offer balconies. Some views though are over the car park and back streets. The hotel hosts many weddings/events and often the lower terrace by the pool will be closed for private functions from 4pm each day. I loved it as I got to watch some great weddings whilst sunbathing by the pool!

I would also recommend Casa del Mar that is next door. It's a bigger, formal, quite grand hotel with good rooms and big bathrooms, no balconies though. There's also a good sushi bar in the restaurant. For young couples, I would recommend The Viceroy which is across the road (so not right on the beach) but very cool and trendy. It has a real buzz to it and it's where the music execs and producers/TV people etc all stay.

Melissa@collettstravel.co.uk
Tel: 020 8906 0542

Driving the Californian Pacific Coast

The drive from Napa Valley to Carmel should only have taken about 3-4 hours but we got lost in San Fran and it took us 6 hours. We stayed in Quail Lodge which isn’t by the sea but great if you like golf. It's a lovely hotel and we stayed in a gorgeous suite that Arnie had stayed in before us!

For a hotel nearer the beach in Carmel I would probably recommend either La Playa or Highlands Inn.The drive from Carmel down the coast is INCREDIBLE - the best drive I have ever done. The scenery is amazing and constantly changing from woodlands to coastline, all literally right at the edge of the Pacific. It was all very dramatic and the drive was one of the highlights of our holiday. I'd recommend ‘Nepenthe’ for lunch on the Big Sur; a great place to stop with fab views. The Post Ranch Inn next door is one of the best hotels on the Big Sur but gets fully booked way in advance so it's very difficult to get rooms here. I'd also suggest a visit to Hearst Castle en-route to San Luis Obispo - you get a great tour of the castle. Next we stayed at Madonna Inn. This place is insane, like nothing you could imagine. One night is enough here. All the rooms have different themes and the restaurant is like someone puked up pink everywhere. Good food though.

Next day it was about a 2-hour drive to Santa Barbara and the Four Seasons The Biltmore, a great hotel where we stayed in total luxury. It's owned by Ty Warner, the zillionaire who made his fortune from the Beany Babies and has a very Mexican/Spanish-country feel to it. The rooms are lovely but mainly garden views and not all rooms have terraces/balconies. The food is fantastic but highly over-priced although the Sunday Brunch is great with every possible choice of food you can imagine from sushi to crepes to waffles to salmon, champagne etc. Very yummy! The hotel has its own beach club that only F.S guests and members of the club can use (membership is $250,000 per year). So you can imagine the type of people you see sitting round the pool, 80-year old women that look 20.

I'd recommend Santa Barbara for a stopover. It's a lovely place - loads of shopping and restaurants… but that’s pretty much it! It's flat though so good for cycling and you can rent bikes for free at the hotel. We also visited the San Ysidro Ranch, a stunning hotel but up in the hills so no beach. Probably used more for a romantic/peaceful weekend getaway from LA…

Next up... Melissa reaches Santa Monica

CT

More from Melissa in the Napa Valley, USA

We spent 2 nights in Napa Valley – well worth it if you like your food and drink. It's only about an hour’s drive from San Fran and the weather totally changes. It's amazing, blue skies and endless views of rolling vineyards - so beautiful. There are only 2 main roads running parallel through the wine region with all the vineyards dotted along either side. Most of them you can just pop into for wine tasting sessions (some exclusive ones are by appointment only). I'd recommend William Cole vineyards - family owned.

Restaurants - well, there is Thomas Keller's ‘French Laundry’ although that has a 2-month waiting list as it is one of the most famous restaurants in the USA. I had been recommended ‘Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen’ by a client of mine and this was fantastic, too. Also, Thomas Keller's ‘Bouchon’ is great for lunch and half the price of his other restaurant.

Hotels - the Auberge du Soleil is arguably the best hotel in Napa; great location, beautiful views, amazing food, pool etc., very private. Also the Calistoga Ranch (sister to the Auberge) looks fantastic - a bit less pompous maybe and still as beautiful/private. I stayed in Solage Calistoga that is in the same group as the others. It's a new hotel, all open-plan and a little strange looking when you arrive but it's actually a great hotel for less than half the price of the other 2 properties. It has a very young feel to it but the rooms are stunning and the food fantastic. Good for young couples I would say…

Melissa@collettstravel.co.uk
Tel: 020 8906 0542

CT

It's staff holiday time!

Before Melissa set off for her California holiday we asked her if she'd gather up some tips on where to eat and what to do while they were over there. Her plans were to start off in San Francisco, do a quick whizz round the Napa Valley wineries and then head off down Pacific Coast Highway to end in Santa Monica.

We guess she's landed safely then; this is what she's got to say.

San Francisco is a really buzzing, cosmopolitan city and has quite a continental/European feel to it that I like. It's famous for its thick fog which will normally disappear by lunchtime in the summer but that makes it always pretty grey in the mornings and not the clear blue skies we were expecting from California! There's plenty to do though - Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Golden Gate Bridge, China Town, Italy Town, lots of galleries and museums and of course the usual American stores (Saks/ Macys/ Bloomingdales/Abercrombie etc).

More later, we hope...(and maybe a bit about where to eat as well, please Melissa?)

CT

Grenada's a royal favourite

I've never yet been lucky enough to visit the Chelsea Flower Show and so was thrilled to get an invite this year from Grenada Tourism. We were to gather inside the Great Pavilion beside Castaway, the Grenada exhibit http://www.grenada-at-chelsea.org.uk/ created by Suzanne Gaywood and her team.

It was fantastic news to hear that Suzanne had again won a gold medal at the show, her ninth, for her recreation of Grenada's tropical idyll complete with traditional thatched shack and just the hint of a nearby jetty on a deserted beach. The native bamboo and flamboyant array of flowers, foliage and spices had all been painstakingly packed and flown in fresh from Grenada just a few days earlier. A less arduous journey though was had by the sand that was trucked in from the local builder's yard and with the aid of good local bleach rather than tropical sunshine made to acquire the Grenadian sun-bleached look.


Earlier that morning the Queen had made an unscheduled stop for a chat at the Grenada stand. Suzanne's annual exhibit is one that the Queen always looks out for at the Show and apparently Grenada one of the Royals' favourite islands.

One of my favourite places on Grenada is the Calabash Hotel, one I'd always recommend for peace, quiet, excellent dining at Gary Rhodes' restaurant and, I understand, just over the water from the lavish private island of Calivigny that's now available to hire for just over £25,000 per night. Bargain. Christmas party sorted.

CT

The latest in cruising luxuries....

What more could you want when you're on a luxury cruise, miles out at sea, sipping champagne on your private balcony?

Well, a concierge service that arranges priority disembarkation for the next day's shore excursion might be nice. Or, maybe dinner reservations in the ship's signature restaurant at a time that'll make sure you're in plenty of time to catch the evening's main cabaret.

We've just heard from Regent Seven Seas Cruises that concierge amenities such as these will be rolled out on all cruises sailing from April 2012 onwards. So, if you're looking at cruising in a Deluxe Balcony Suite category or above, ask us for more details.